This invention was the subject matter of Document Disclosure Program Registration No. 192,649 which was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 9, 1988.
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. No's.: 4,655,425; 4,678,154; 4,634,089; and, 4,606,523 the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse arrangements for suspending a drinking receptacle from the interior of a vehicle.
While all of the aforementioned prior art devices are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, these prior art constructions are equally deficient in a number of salient respects.
To begin with, virtually all of the prior art patents involve structures that just by nature of their design and construction occupy an undue amount of storage space in a vehicle when they are not in use; and, they also have a tendency to snag on the vehicle occupants person when the holders are empty but still in place on the vehicle interior.
In addition, virtually all of the aforementioned constructions are more suited for holding generally cylindrical drink containers than they are for supporting tall tapered drink receptacles, particularly when the tapered receptacles are full. With regard to this last problem, a tapered drinking receptacle has an inherent instability when it is full due to a high center of gravity and a relatively narrow bottom support surface. Consequently, those prior art patents that provide a rigid base support for the bottom of the drinking receptacles fail to compensate for the height and instability that are found in tapered drinking cups; or, if they do take this problem into consideration in their design, they are then not particularly well suited for the conventional shorter cylindrical cans that most liquid refreshments are packaged in.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among users of drinking receptacle holders for a flexible and foldable drinking receptacle holder that is equally effective in holding either a short conventional can or a tall tapered cup in a safe secure manner; and, the provision of such a device is a stated objective of this invention.